valentine's day trinkets

fuzzy valentine socks, tiffany bow mug, kate spade ipad case, kate spade knot bracelet, vinturi wine aerator, 'love' pave baublebar ring, dior creme de rose lipbalm, 'vintage handbags' coffee table book.

i love valentine's day. it's so much fun! it really boggles my mind when people take this holiday too seriously, getting upset about being single, moaning about hallmark cards, etc. who wouldn't enjoy a day about pink and hearts? and an excuse to eat chocolate or have some champagne, whether its with friends or a significant other? plus, valentine's desserts are gorgeous.

here are some little valentine trinkets to get someone special in your life. i really enjoyed putting this list together! and let's be honest, these are mostly things i'd love to receive or would give a girlfriend. i love the boyfriend/husband gift guides too and they are SO helpful. but why not grab some little things for the other loves in your life? (hey, the wine aerator is unisex!)

banana nut bread

is there a photography method that makes banana bread look glamorous? because i can't find it.

had to photograph on a stormy day. we're workin' with it here. banana bread probably doesn't look sexy under a vibrant sunset either.

everyone has a good banana bread recipe on hand, right? well, this is mine. and never fear if you don't have any super ripe bananas on hand, just pop them in the oven on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 40 minutes to an hour. they'll come out totally black, but sugary and sweet on the inside.

this recipe is moist, light and will make your house smell divine!

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or a little more if you're like me)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon, depending on your preference
• 1/8 (just a dash!) teaspoon nutmeg
• chopped pecans/walnuts (optional)
• chocolate chips (optional)

preheat your oven to 350 degrees. grease two loaf pans (depending on the size, you might end up with just one loaf!).

mix your butter, sugar and bananas until light and fluffy. add eggs and vanilla. in a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, and be sure not to overbeat. when the mixture is just incorporated, add nuts or chocolate chips if you desire. i added pecans to mine.

bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

recipe adapted from food.com.

current obsessions {volume 5}

01. my sugar paper 2014 planner. i haven't kept a planner for a year or two, but i'm excited to get back in the swing of it with this one. i love my moleskins, but this was too cute to pass up. checking off my little checkmarks i create is so satisfying. these are still at target i believe, so go check them out!

 02. gigi new york clutch - i can't stop staring at this thing. my mother got this for me for christmas (monogrammed, of course) and it is so beautiful in person that i can't even deal. it's large enough to hold a regular sized wallet, but chic enough for night time. totally. obsesssed.

03. yoga studio app - would it be too cheesy if i said this has totally changed my life? the classes offered on this app are simple to follow. i can pick beginner, intermediate and advanced classes that last 15, 30 or 60 minutes. recently i've even come home to do the 15 minute classes on my lunch break!

birmingham snowpocalypse

on twitter tuesday, i wished for snow.

what a misguided wish that was. the forecast called for a "dusting". well, lemme tell you, we got a little more than a dusting.

i left work around 11:30 - like most everyone else in the entire city, because that's when it really started coming down - and found myself in 2.5 hours worth of traffic just to go the 0.9 miles to my house. it was a nightmare. but not nearly nightmarish enough compared to the trials of my friends and coworkers, who spent the night in their offices and sat in their cars on I-65 until they were rescued by four wheelers at 4am.

i ended up parking my car downtown and walking home. my car is still downtown because the roads to my house are iced and blocked with abandoned vehicles. i am hoping that once everything melts i can get my car back!

this has little to do with our inability to drive in snow & ice  - it's more so about our lack of prepardeness and infastructure to handle this sort of event. we have no trucks to salt the roads. we have no snow plows. so here we are with in complete and total disarray from just a few inches.

in the past few days, i've seen more stories of kindness than i have in a long time. like the doctor who walked six miles in the snow to perform brain surgery, the teachers sheltering the kids stuck in schools overnight, or the countless good samaritans helping people out and feeding them in the cold. so while the city shuts down in snow, you can't kill the southern hospitality. birmingham is a great place to be!

low carb recipe round up

normally i don't offer diet or health advice. number one, i'm not a nutritionist. number two, what works for me doesn't work for other people. with this in mind, i thought about whether i'd like to share some of my favorite low carb recipes, and i decided to anyway! i personally try to eat low carb for many reasons, and it's not nearly as difficult as you'd think.

whether it's for weight management, health, or just because you're trying to switch it up, give some of these recipes (all tried & true tested by me) a try. below are my favorites that are on a pretty steady rotation in my house. 

• roasted red pepper & smoked gouda soup 
• cheesecake "fluff" - this dessert could not be any easier, and it's incredibly tasty and addicting! even if you're not into low carb, give this a try with some whipped cream for an awesome treat.
• cheesecake cupcakes - just like the real thing!
• mexican chicken with jalepeno popper sauce
• bacon wrapped feta meatloaf
• pan seared chicken with balsamic cream sauce
• almond flour pancakes

aside from pinterest, my favorite low carb recipe sites are i breathe, i'm hungry, all day i dream about food & the keto recipes subreddit.

when eating out, i always rely on a good salad with chicken & ranch/caesar dressing, meat with vegetables or a bunless burger. you can essentially make any meal low carb at any restaurant, even fast food. i've been on/off low carb full-time for a year now, and so far, i've found it incredibly easy to make meals low carb outside my own kitchen. just takes a little dedication.

like i said, i'm no nutritionist, but i've enjoyed cutting back on breads/pastas/sugars in my diet, and the way its made me feel. give it a shot sometime & you might be pleasantly surprised, and hopefully some of these recipes will give you a starting point!